FRENCH WORD-A-DAY

Thank you for your post Kristi - you ask "How do pacifists observe Armistice Day?"

Speaking personally, I can only say that throughout my life I have rejected involvement in the pomp and ceremony associated with Armistice Day (and in UK, Remembrance Sunday). My father served in the RAF throughout WW2, and having seen the evils of warfare brought us up as a family not to glorify war (or the veterans of the armed services), but rather to respect and honour those whose faith and courage led them to stand and be counted as conscientious objectors.

I do not wear a poppy (red or white), and whilst attending Remembrance Sunday services, respect the 2 minutes silence by praying for peace and for the cessation of unreported wars across the globe - in places as diverse as the Yemen and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Your beautiful post touches us deeply. Below is a poem written to express the reality that Peace comes from within. It is always there; always has been; and ever will be. It is Man who superimposes his strife. Going ‘within’ makes that abundantly clear. With a little practice, each of us could find that place in meditation and the world would change. God Christ

Desert Release: Thoughtforms of Peace

48" x 57"
acrylic, gauze, paper, and hand-rubbing from Egypt on 6-canvas construction


Cosmic Silence
Sands Eternal
Ever-stretching Crystal Earth
Mother Father God Maternal
Constance

Blue Shadows
Cool Thoughts
Remaining in the Air
Peace Pervading Oneness
Silence

Transparent Wall
Spiraling and Hiding
Distant Dance
Unending
Grace


© K.J. Laramie

I have a heart filled with gratitude for those who served, while at the same time being against war as a solution. It should at best be the last resort. But I salute so many whose courage is unfathomable, including my dad, Webb Ellis, who fought in the Pacific while is younger brother, Earl Ellis, fought in Europe. Their letters back and forth are a special treasure. Then Earl's stopped and my dad's frantic ones to their sister in the States began. Earl was lead navigator for the Flying Fortresses out of England, flying top secret missions into Germany to test a new technology for the Allies - radar. All our reports of what happened to him have been conflicting - MIA near Cologne, prisoner of war, died instantly as his plane was shot down, etc. But I have visited the gorgeous American Cemetery in Belgium where a grave is marked with his name. It's a beautiful place to lift up thanks to him, my Dad, and all who served, and to also pray that humans will find alternatives to war.

Thank you, Kristin for your thoughts today, a thought to remember the soldiers, the people, who served their countries to help "a cause" created by governments. i am French born and my country has been saved on several occasions by soldiers of different nations. my mother said to me that she had an uncle who fought in WW1. when he came home, he was a changed man and he would have a "crazy" reaction when he heard people talk about the war as if it was "nothing. he never talked about his time fighting. soldiers who fought in all wars do not talk about their time fighting. it is unfortunate that the people who have not fought glorify the wars. soldiers, on either side of the fence, are people, have families and when they fight, they are all the same. there are no heroes, there are only people who suffer and are willing to give their lives for "a cause".
my father was a prisoner of war in Germany, i am grateful that he survived, he came home in December 1945 and i was born in September 1946, i was lucky, but how many children were not born after the war, after all wars????
i believe, may be i am naïve, that we can resolve all problems when we communicate and when we respect people, difference of opinion will never stop, but respect of people should not stop also.
from the minute i was old enough to think for myself, i have always respected the soldiers of any nation. i do not approve of the behavior of some, no matter what uniform they wear, but they are people, like me, like us.
when Christ (the prisoner in your text) said love thy neighbour as yourself, he did not clarify who is the neighbour, we are all neighbours to each other.
one day, the world will be at peace, yes, one day but when? how many people have to die before that day comes? we must not forget the dead soldiers, but we must remember the living people.war is not to be glorified, but to glorify the living is a better cause, to appreciate what all living people do to help people.
Kristin, you are part of the people we need to "glorify" because through your newsletter, you help others. one word at a time, you help people to understand a culture, but mainly to understand people.
thank you.

jean.

My son was one of those boys who was a junior in high school on September 11. Like many in his age group, he enlisted in the army as soon as he graduated in order to help defend his country. His father and I thought this was not a good idea, but supported him in his decision. He had a fairly terrible time of it and saw a lot of things that no one, especially a very young man, should see. However, after being wounded and receiving a medical discharge, he came home and is basically okay. But he says that he will never allow his children to join the army. I have an enormous respect for all those who followed their conscience. Two things: I sent him a package every week of books, dvds, and food. His fellow soldiers started to ask me for things, too, as many of them never received any mail or support from their families. So remember the USO when you can. Second - military spouses get too little credit. There should be medals for them, too. One reason that my son came through so much better than some of his friends is that he married his high school sweetheart and she has been amazing. I will always love her for many reasons, but especially for the way she stood by him and helped him recover. But I also think that if we were truly a Christian nation, we would have turned the other cheek and found a different way to deal with this.

My father went to war in Korea. He was changed forever. He fought side by side with his childhood friend, and then watch him die in battle (Jimmy Romeo of New York, 19 yrs old - thank you for your sacrifice).
War is terrible. It is terrible in every way. The thought of my son (or daughter) fighting in a war is terrifying. It's something I hope will never happen. But to be passive while innocent people suffer?! And if everyone chose not to fight, evil would prevail and destroy them and everyone else with them. Being passive will not stop evil. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke.
We have militaries to protect our nation and others from great evil. The bible says that evil will exist until Jesus comes again, because Satan is the ruler of this world. This becomes more and more evident every day.
I am personally grateful for those soldiers who go to fight evil for the sake of the helpless and innocent. I'm grateful for those who went across the globe to fight Hitler's evil agenda in WWII. Was this applauding war and violence? Not at all. It is, however, applauding brave men and women who's hearts were moved with compassion for the helpless and innocent. THANK YOU! to veterans around the world, who fought and died for others, so that they (WE) could live in peace and prosperity and freedom. They paid the highest price for the sake of others. That is Christlike ♥
Happy Veteran's Day!! I celebrate and give thanks for these brave and courageous heroes. God bless them one and all!

I remember the soldiers in my family on Veterans/Armistice Day, those that served and lived to tell their story and those that didn't. My grandparents had 6 sons, and 6 daughters. 5 of the sons served, each in a different theater of WWII. One of them, their first born, my Uncle Leslie, never made it home. He was killed in the Battle of the Bulge. I remember as a child the effect it had on his widow and child (my cousin). I also had 2 uncles on my Dad's side who served, 1 who never made it home alive either. I have a son who served in Iraq, who earned 2 Purple Hearts, almost unheard of. 10 days before his unit returned to the states, he was injured, almost killed. I have a brother who served in the Air Force. I don't like wars. I wish all countries got along well. But, I remember them all on Veterans Day.

My brother was in Viet Nam and when he came back, never talked about it. He also suffered from Agent Orange when it was used near his troops. War is made by men, sorry to say, as I do not like to malign men as a whole, but many women simply do not understand why wars happen. Men are territorial....we are not.

God bless you Kristi for your writings today and every time you write, every time as you faithfully stay at your post, you Watchman on the walls. Of your marriage, of your family, of your church, of our society, of our world, of our hearts. God bless you and yours.

I agree with the pacifists and I agree also with the pragmatists i.e. hating war, not seeking to glorify it at all, wishing everyone could all be truly Christ-like; wishing all problems could be solved by an individual and collective total commitment to solutions through communication and nothing else. We are, however, talking about human beings. That's enough said, right there. Human beings. Getting along. Getting it right. When has that ever happened? Right from the garden of Eden? Talk about communication as a solution, was miscommunication not the reason we are all in this mess called the world today? Did Adam communicate rightly to Eve what GOD had commanded? Did Eve not miscommunicate God's command as she understood or had been told it? Did Satan through the serpent not deliberately play on Eve's misunderstanding as conveyed in her miscommunication and further mislead her? Did Adam correct and/or stop Eve? And we don't need to look as far or as high up as governments for blame or for causes of wars. Governments are only made up of human beings too. Look at those neighbours of yours who won't let you have a moment's peace, who cannot just live and let live. What about that colleague in the office, that thorn in your flesh, so filled with envy and always looking for ways to trip you up and make you look bad before your boss(es), and spreading lies and gossip about you in the office to make your other colleagues distrust and dislike you; how about that boss who despite being the boss you can't help but think for some reason you can't quite figure out might just be intimidated by you and/or be a very insecure person deep within because he/she just seems to be on a personal mission to make your life hell or to make you quit your job; or, that ever jealous sibling whom no amount of love and patience and longsuffering or firmness and toughness ever seems to change; that mean, dour shopkeeper who never has a smile for anyone; that post-office staff who always has a caustic retort for EVERY enquiry or greeting; or, the adults, anywhere in your life or communit or society, whom you know, whom though long married, with children, supposedly mature, responsible members, and even pillars of society, on the face of it, are mean, wicked, evil bullies, and often so juvenile and petty in their meanness and evil you can't tell if mentally, spiritually, emotionally, in their souls if they ever truly left the schoolyard. Why will there not be wars? The very same JESUS so many here have wished everyone on earth could be like, said "There will be wars and rumours of wars".

I have wondered before now, and now I wonder publicly, here, now, if any scientists or friends or family of scientists and those who invent and manufacture the weapons of war could put into them: is it not possible to have tranquilliser guns. To have guns shoot darts or needles or balls (dissolving on impact) of extremely highly potent tranquillisers that would either dissolve on impact or pierce or prick the skin, whatever the method but once inhaled, once contact made, on skin surface, or into the bloodstream, or the slightest inhalation, knocks the recipient out cold for three hours, thirty minutes, etc,the length of time varying according to the number of impacts/contacts made, just like varying number of bullets. That gives enough time to hand off people and lock them up in jail and in a war, clear up all the bodies (tranquillised, asleep, not dead) and hand off th too and lock them up. And one could still tell who's the victor, who's the vanquished, but no lives are lost, no blood is shed, nobody's injured and/or disabled for life; nobody sees anything gory that traumatises and handicaps them for life. The same could be done for all kinds of weapons. Fighters jets could drop ands with nerve has not bombs but not the nerve gas that kills or turns people into vegetables. I strongly believe that the same minds, the same brain power that produced the killing machines and weapons of destrhction that have been in use up until now, could invent, develop, produce and manufacture weapons such as I have described and much better. They have the minds of it. But do they and the governments who sponsor their research and work, have the will for it?

Thank you for your post honoring our veterans. My grandfather, Lloyd White, was a member of the 493rd squadron of the 48th fighter group stationed at St. Trond, Belgium. He flew many successful missions in a P-47 Thunderbolt. Like others have mentioned, my grandfather rarely spoke of and never glorified the war. He had a deep reverence for freedom, and always tried to do the right things. We are blessed that he returned from the war and lived a long life. Thanks for remembering our veterans!

My grandfather in WWI and uncle in WWII, wounded but survived. I had the privilege of going to Normandy last summer...on my bucket list. I encourage everyone to go if they can. It is indeed a sacred place. NO, FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.

How about so many veterans who were not fighting for our liberty, despite the propaganda. They were massacring other people, innocents, denying their liberty. For what?

Even "the good war" was not that good, or innocent, as so many are convinced. Think of Hiroshima and Nagasasaki, the firebombing of Dresden, or Hamberg or Tokyo. Since WWII, we've been constantly at war, killing people. The "we" includes all those veterans who were part of it.

Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day, is far more appropriate than Veteran's Day,a name which tends to glorify militarism.

I'm sorry for your losses. Please thank your son for his service to our nation.

I wish that in addition to all the monuments celebrating our veterans of war, we had just a few celebrating the diplomats who have averted wars, or negotiated peace. Perhaps they would contribute to recognizing that continuing to talk is usually preferable to going to war.

My grandfather fought in World War I, and I don't know anything about it. But he came home and as far as I know, didn't have "shell shock" or other aftereffects, for which I am grateful.

My father fought in World War II, and was stationed in France. While there, he bought a French Bible, which I have. I never heard much about his time there, although he mentioned that he and others in his unit slept for a while in packing crates, for lack of any other place. He survived without injuries, and later became a career Foreign Service officer. During the Vietnam war, he served for 3 years as a provincial adviser there, helping to obtain food, medical supplies, and other basics for the civilian population.

I don't think all wars are the same. I believe fighting the world wars was necessary. Other wars may have had goals such as "contain communism" (Vietnam), but the threat was far less obvious. More recent wars may have even more nebulous aims. But one can hate the war and still appreciate the sacrifices of those who served, many of whom had no choice because they were drafted.

With regard to conscientious objectors, I knew a few people who stated their objections to war, but one can't just do that and automaticallly be exempted. Certain Christian denominations, such as the Church of the Brethren, or other quasi-religious ones such as Quakers, have a long history of pacifism. Those from more "mainline" denominations have an uphill battle to convince recruiters that their objections are genuine. Sometimes they can do alternative service, or enter the military as a medic, but it isn't as easy as it sounds.

I dream of the day when there will be no more war, although as others have commented, evil seems inherent in humanity. The problem is that not everyone agrees to the same rules, or the necessity of observing civilized behavior. We can't let anarchists and dictators take over the world, and we walk a fine line between striving for peace while being ever-prepared to defend it.

Young men AND women are sent off to war by their governments.

And who would fight those performing atrocities, injustice, genocide? Sadly, good must fight evil or evil will overtake. I am grateful for the security and freedom I enjoy thanks to those who have fought for it.